Gag Me with a Spoon

It’s funny how every decade has it’s own linguistic nuances. For example, things were "far out" in the 70s, "bitchin" in the 80s, "cool" in the 90s, and are "amazing" nowadays (or so the rampant overuse of this word by contestants on the bachelor would lead you to believe).

Words can also change meaning across decades. In the 70s, "pimping" meant: "procuring customers for a prostitute." Now it means: "doing an extreme car makeover on MTV."

Take the word "individualist."

Today’s dictionary defines it as: "one that asserts individuality by independence of thought and action."

However, in the 80s, apparently the word meant: "one who sews own drab unflattering clothes designed to make one look as butch as possible." Also, it seems that it meant "one who cuts own hair with pinking shears." And just a hunch, "one who tight-rolls her Guess jeans just like everyone else does."

P.S. I’m pretty sure Melanie Griffith owns the jacket in the top photo.

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17 Responses

Being someone who deals on a regular basis with the preteen to teen crowd at work I would have to say that at least in Fredericton the term cool has been replaced by “SAWEEEET” (sweet). Somebody please tell me how a reproduction WW1 trench complete with dirt and carnage photos can be described as “sweet”. believe me I ain’t never seen it’s resembace to a damned bon bon.
P.S I think you may be right about melanie grifith. My mom also owns that jacket. And because she is my mom she made her own shoulder pads for it. That would probably have been the same week she made the cardboard doll house with popsicle stick flooring and stencilled wallpaper. The bathroom was tiled in 1cm tiles and she sewed the damned furniture out of poly cotton country prints. Then she gave it to my daughter for Christmas.
When i think about the hours she spent on it my mind boggles. if only she could use her powers for good……

Wow. An entire shoulder pad herd was killed to make those outfits. Jeepers. You also KNOW that there was a lot of black eyeliner on those models, and the scent of Designer Imposters Giorgio was heavy in the air….

A bunch of grade school children were asked to answer the question: What being an individualist means to me.
The most popular answer were:
1)A man
2)Having pear shaped body and/or being a jedi knight
3)Parachute pants or a schoolgirl/chinese manservant
4)A man

Issey Miyake? More like “I see myopic”. Seriously, I know that I have seen that thing somewhere before…Oh yeah! Now I remember. Wrapped around a homeless person sleeping in Central Park, only it had mucus and saliva caked onto it and it smelled like urine.

Issey Miyake? More like “I see myopic”. Seriously, I know that I have seen that thing somewhere before…Oh yeah! Now I remember. Wrapped around a homeless person sleeping in Central Park, only it had mucus and saliva caked onto it and it smelled like urine.

like, totally stop bagging on me. i made all those totally rad individualist outfits in like 1985. along with my drop-crotch satin genie pants in flo-pink. wore them with my cyndi lauper double belt in day-glo. totally. so, like, whatever.